Top story: Tom Watson – ‘I love this party but sometimes don’t recognise it’
Hello, it’s Warren Murray on a morning when “leave” and “remain” have taken on new meaning in the Labour party.
The seven MPs who have quit in frustration at Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership will go into the day hoping to persuade more parliamentary colleagues to join their grouping. If the Independent Group can convince another 29 disaffected MPs from any party to join them, they would gain official third party status – overtaking the SNP – and receive taxpayer funding. Those who resigned – Luciana Berger and Chuka Umunna, along with Ann Coffey, Mike Gapes, Chris Leslie, Gavin Shuker and Angela Smith – attacked Corbyn’s leadership of Labour, accusing him of betraying members and the country with his Brexit stance and presiding over a party in denial of its antisemitism problem.
Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, warned that “time is short for us to confront the scale of the problem and meet the consequences, to keep others from leaving … To put it mildly, we need to be kinder and gentler. I love this party. But sometimes I no longer recognise it.” There had long been rumours that dozens of Labour MPs were likely to quit but in the end the number was smaller, as some wanted to see Umunna and Berger test the water with donors, supporters and MPs from other parties. Even among those with no plans to quit, a string of Labour MPs from Yvette Cooper to Lisa Nandy have publicly made clear that they want to see change from the Labour leadership. Meanwhile there has been strong speculation that several centrist Conservative politicians are considering their future under Theresa May because of her policy towards the EU. Umunna has worked closely with Tories including Anna Soubry, the MP for Broxtowe, Heidi Allen, the MP for South Cambridgeshire, and Sarah Wollaston, the MP for Totnes, on the push for a second Brexit referendum.
Of the seven who quit on Monday, Angela Smith has the slimmest electoral majority in her constituency of Penistone and Stocksbridge. At the Legion club in Penistone, opinion appeared split. “I just can’t vote for Angela Smith,” said Mick Drewry, 66, accusing her of undermining Corbyn. But, “I think she’s done the right thing – I think they all have, the seven,” said Angela Spivey, 61, a lifelong Labour voter until Corbyn became leader. “I think it’s about time we did have a new party – I would probably vote for them if they bring out good policies.”
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Rosenstein on the way out – Overnight it has emerged that Rod Rosenstein – the US deputy attorney general who appointed Robert Mueller as Trump-Russia inquisitor, to Donald Trump’s fury – is to leave the White House in mid-March. It was known he would leave upon the new attorney general, William Barr, taking office to replace Jeff Sessions. But the timing of the news lines up with Rosenstein’s appearance in the news in recent days, over claims that he sounded out cabinet members about using their constitutional power to dismiss Trump from the presidency. Within the last day Trump has attacked Rosenstein, accusing him of “planning a very illegal act”.
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Rule out no deal, May told – Ministers have demanded that Theresa May stop using a no-deal Brexit as a negotiating tactic because of the damage being done to British business. The point has been underlined with Honda set to announce the closure of its Swindon factory which employs 3,500 people and guarantees many more jobs in the UK automotive supply chain. It has been described as a “shattering body blow” for British manufacturing. Four ministers – David Gauke, Amber Rudd, Greg Clark and David Mundell – have met with May and told her that while the no-deal threat was once a valid negotiating tactic, alarming announcements by businesses and manufacturers mean it is time to categorically rule it out. British people are shopping on, though, according to a survey – more than half have no plans to change their spending habits. The PM is expected to visit Brussels on Wednesday while the attorney general, Geoffrey Cox, will soon set out what changes he considers necessary to eliminate the risk of being trapped in the Irish backstop. The Brexit secretary, Stephen Barclay, is due to brief cabinet today about his latest talks with the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier.
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Search for missing beachgoers – A British tourist and his French travelling companion have gone missing at an Australian beach during rough sea conditions. Police and emergency services are searching for Hugo Palmer and Erwan Ferrieux, both 20, after their belongings were found by walkers on Shelley Beach in New Wouth Wales on Monday. The men’s rental car was parked nearby, probably since Sunday, and police said if they had gotten into difficulty in the water their chances of survival were “exceptionally slim” as weather conditions had been “terrible”.
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Kurds seek protection in Syria endgame – The leader of Syria’s Kurds has called for an international force to protect her people around the Turkish border. The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has warned America that a Turkish military operation is imminent against the US-backed Kurdish People’s Protection Units. “We would like to see an international power on the border as observers to ensure that Turkey does not attack,” said Ilham Ahmed, leader of the political arm of the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which have been responsible for liberating much of north-eastern Syria from Islamic State. Erdoğan views Kurdish forces in Syria as “terrorists” and an extension of the Kurdish separatist movement within Turkey’s own borders.
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We’ll do it Huawei – The telecommunications magnate Ren Zhengfei has declared “there’s no way the US can crush us” as the row continues over whether his Huawei company’s technology is a gateway for hacking by Chinese intelligence agencies. “The world cannot leave us because we are more advanced. Even if they persuade more countries not to use us temporarily, we can always scale things down a bit,” said Ren, whose daughter, Meng Wanzhou, is being kept in Canada on a US arrest warrant for fraud and sanctions violations. Washington has reportedly pressed the UK and other allies not to use the firm’s technology in critical infrastructure. Ren said: “We will continue to invest in the UK … Our company will never undertake any spying activities. If we have any such actions, then I’ll shut the company down.”
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Do not punch vegans – NatWest has apologised after a worker told a loan applicant that “all vegans should be punched in the face”. The Bristol customer was given compensation of £200. Her veganism came up during the phone call because she had applied for a loan for a nutrition diploma. NatWest said it was “extremely sorry … These comments were wholly inappropriate and we have commenced disciplinary proceedings.”
Today in Focus podcast: What should happen to the Isis wives?
Hoda Muthana, an American who joined Isis four years ago, now wants to return home.
The Guardian’s Martin Chulov describes his visit to al-Hawl refugee camp where an estimated 1,500 foreign women and children are seeking safety. And: Polly Toynbee on the split within the Labour party.
Lunchtime read: ‘Don’t feed the monster’
“Each week we buy 38m items and 11m items go to landfill,” says Maria Chenoweth, chief executive of Traid, a charity working to stop clothes being thrown away. “We don’t have enough resources to keep feeding this monster.” In the 80s, her father banned her from jumble sales in case people thought the family was poor. So she dragged her sacks of clothes through her bedroom window.
Now, Chenoweth considers it “a huge gesture of activism to buy secondhand”. In the UK, clothing has the fourth largest environmental impact after housing, transport and food – and MPs have even called for a clothing tax and mending lessons at school to reduce waste. Paula Cocozza hits the charity stores, swap shops and peer-to-peer outfit hire websites with the people who have stopped buying new clothes.
Sport
Maurizio Sarri is clinging to his job after a swaggering Paul Pogba sliced through Chelsea to end their defence of the FA Cup and the home supporters took out their frustrations on the manager. After the game at Stamford Bridge, the Manchester clubs were kept apart in the quarter-final draw, with United to meet Wolves and City to play Swansea. Naomi Osaka is adamant that her surprise split with the coach Sascha Bajin had nothing to do with money but was because she refused to put “success over happiness”.
Caster Semenya’s lawyers have accused the IAAF of using underhand tactics to gain public support at the start of their contentious dispute at the court of arbitration for sport in Lausanne. Toto Wolff has issued a strong warning of the dangers facing Formula One and the sport’s place in the UK because of Brexit, describing it as the “mother of all messes”. Adil Rashid has said he will stick to his strengths as England’s preparations for the World Cup begin with the first ODI against West Indies. And a proposed rematch with Deontay Wilder has been thrown into doubt after Tyson Fury announced a deal with ESPN that makes it the “exclusive” broadcaster of his fights in the US.
Business
Asian shares are mostly higher in the order of tenths of a percent as Chinese and US officials prepare for trade talks in Washington this week. US markets were closed on Monday for a holiday. Sterling has been trading at $1.289 and €1.141 overnight while the FTSE is bound for a slightly higher open.
The papers
Most papers lead with Labour deputy leader Tom Watson’s warning to Jeremy Corbyn that more resignations will follow if he doesn’t bring change to the party. The Guardian leads on: “Corbyn is warned: change or more rebels will quit”. The Times has a similar take: “More resignations will follow, Corbyn is warned”, as does the Telegraph: “Corbyn warned more will quit as ‘Gang of Seven’ split Labour”.
Headline of the day goes to the Mirror, which puts it simply: “Splitting headache”. The i says: “Corbyn on red alert for new defectors”. The Mail has a photograph of Corbyn on his way to his allotment, with the pun “Leader who’s lost the plot”. The drama also made it to the front of the Scotsman, which borrows a line from the Independent Group’s presser: “Politics is broken”. “MPs despair at Corbyn stance” is the picture story on the front of the Financial Times, which leads on the Honda plant closure. The Express and the Sun splash on Bethnal Green schoolgirl Shamima Begum’s comments on the Manchester Arena bombing. The Express asks “How could she say arena bombing was justified?” while the Sun puts it simply: “How dare she?” You can see more of the front pages here.
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